Finicky and unreliable seem to be popular words, then again I've never actually seen one in person. So take it with a grain of salt.

Still how cool is a Luger in .22 right?

__________________E-Shock rounds are engineered to expend maximum energy into soft targets, turning the density mass into an expanding rotational cone of NyTrilium matrix particles, causing neurological collapse to the central nervous system.- Yeah I can do that.
I guarantee you will know it if a bicyclist hits your house going 1000 mph. -Smaug

Have two, one is the standard 6" model and another 6" Target version w/adjustable rear sights. Both are excellent shooters, take any and all ammo without a problem. Bought my first one new back around 1974 for $75.

Stoeger has/had owned the exclusive "Luger" licensing and naming rights to include manufacturing and importation for the US market.

__________________E-Shock rounds are engineered to expend maximum energy into soft targets, turning the density mass into an expanding rotational cone of NyTrilium matrix particles, causing neurological collapse to the central nervous system.- Yeah I can do that.
I guarantee you will know it if a bicyclist hits your house going 1000 mph. -Smaug

According to the manual the Luger was designed by an American,,,
Hugo Borchardt then sold the idea to George Luger.

Um... Hugo Borchardt was German (born in Magdeburg, Germany, died in Charlottenburg, Germany).

He did live and work in the United States for a long time, but he designed the C-93 Borchardt semi-automatic pistol (on which the toggle-link action of the Luger is loosely based) while employed by Ludwig Loewe & Company of Berlin.

You are probably correct about his nationality,,,
I haven't researched it at all.

But here's what it says on the last page of the manual:

Quote:

Born in America
Now Made in America

Quote:

Actually, the Luger is as American as apple pie. It was
originally designed by an American, Hugo Borchardt. who
tried to market it in the United States. No sale. So. being
enterprising, he sold the idea to a German firm where
George Luger came up with the Luger design as we know
it. Stoeger popularized this model in America! And now thanks
to modern engineering and manufacturing methods
- it says "Made in America" on the Luger. Some of the
features we've shown above just don't exist on other sidearms.
Luger's reputation as the most accurate and reliable
sporter around is no accident. Police departments have
realized that and many are now using the Luger as a training
weapon.

Aarond

.

__________________
Caje: The coward dies a thousand times, the brave only once.
Kirby: That's about all it takes, ain't it?
Combat: "A Silent Cry"Aarond is good,,, Aarond is wise,,, Always trust Aarond!(most of the time)

Actually, the Luger is as American as apple pie. It was
originally designed by an American, Hugo Borchardt. who
tried to market it in the United States. No sale. So. being
enterprising, he sold the idea to a German firm where
George Luger came up with the Luger design as we know
it.

Just marketing fluff trying to appeal to an American market.

Hugo Borchardt did emigrate to the United States and became an American citizen, but the C93 pistol was developed after he returned to Germany, while he worked at Ludwig Loewe & Company in Berlin. The C93 was a German pistol.

Also, saying Hugo Borchardt designed the Luger is like saying John Bowning designed the Glock.

The 1911 and Glock share the short-recoil system designed by John Browning (just as the Borchardt C93 and Luger share the Maxim toggle lock system, which was not designed by Borchart, but was used earlier on Maxim guns). But no one says that Glock pistols were designed by John Browning.

The fact is that Borchardt designed the pistol at Ludwig Loewe & Company in Berlin, and despite being a very forward thinking design, it was not a commercial success. Georg Luger (also an employee of Ludwig Loewe & Company - he did not "buy" the design from Borchardt) came along a few years later, took the basic Maxim toggle-lock system of the C93, and designed a completely new frame, lockwork, and cartridge. The end result was the Luger pistol.

My close friend has one, has about 30,000 rounds through it. Occasional feed issues but not to often. I've personally ran at least 1000 rounds through it and it worked almost as well as my families old ruger mk II.

Rim fire Lugers are more function sensitive than many calibers because of the wide variation in ammo. Everything from cheap "bucket-O-bullets", hyper velocity, different bullet weights, target ammo, chamber cut dimensions and so forth.

Of the two most common .22 Lugers, Erma and Stoeger.....Erma seems to be more sensitive and prone to feeding problems.

Personally I always liked the Erma's solid metal toggle linkage over the Stoeger stamped linkage because it more accurately resembled original 9mm Lugers. Erma also offered longer barrel versions that looked like the Navy models. As for reliability, I love my Stoegers.

Stoeger owned the "Luger" name and could, if they wished, have put it on a carpet sweeper. The Stoeger Luger, aside from the toggle action, has almost nothing in common with the original German pistol in terms of design. (And of course the Stoeger Luger, being .22 caliber, is blowback; it does not need or have the locked breech of the original gun.)

I never owned a Stoeger Luger, but I have worked on a number of them and I wish I could be as positive about them as others are. If owners have had good results with them, that is great, but it is not always thus.

I have two of them, both standard models. Would love to get a target model. Like all the .22 autos I've had, or shot, they are picky about the ammo. They may only shoot one brand/load well, or they may shoot all but one brand/load well. Each one is an individual, or so it seems.

MY first one runs well, is fun to shoot, and has nicely hand checkered grips, (done by a friend of mine).

My second one was in a local shop, where they said they tried to use it as a range rental gun, but it was a jam-o-matic. I bought it anyway ($140, IIRC), and sure enough the first mag I shot, it jammed a few times. Then I OILED it, and it ran like a fine sewing machine.

They are true Lugers, in the legal sense, but share only a resemblance to the P.08, and are not a precise copy of the mechanism.

I recently obtained a NIB (unfired) stainless steel Luger, made in the USA, marked Stoeger and Luger. and yes, its a 9mm, P.08 clone.

The Erma guns were not great. Not total junk, but not great. They used a large amount of alloy parts, and have a reputation for failing. And repair parts are non-existant. Besides the .22, they made a neat 3/4 scale Luger in .380ACP. I passed on one of those at a show recently, due to concerns over its durability, and mostly because it was outrageously priced.

__________________
All else being equal (and it almost never is) bigger bullets tend to work better.

(And of course the Stoeger Luger, being .22 caliber, is blowback; it does not need or have the locked breech of the original gun.)

+1. On a "real" Pistol Parabellum or Luger pistol, the barreled receiver and the toggle linkage recoil together for a short distance before the toggle linkage strikes ramps in the frame, unlocks from the barreled receiver, and hinges upward. On the Stoeger .22, the barrel and receiver don't move upon firing; the pistol operates as a pure blowback, but with a toggle linkage to operate the bolt rather than a more conventional straight coil spring.

Also, AFAIK the Stoeger .22 uses an internal hammer rather than the original Luger's spring-loaded striker and peculiar side-pivoting sear.

One final note: the Stoeger .22 should not be confused with the pre-WWII Stoeger-imported "American Eagle" Luger pistols, which were the Real Thing, made by DWM in Germany.

__________________
"Smokey, this is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules... MARK IT ZERO!!" - Walter Sobchak

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